From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 646 Strange Circumstances (I've Returned Like Lightning!)

The increase in strength brought about by the upgrade of the mythical level is real and substantial.

However, compared to the mythical specialties, mythical abilities, and the path abilities of the mythical golden dragon that have not yet been chosen.

Ivy was more concerned about the mysterious death of the demon leader Nugenis.

The reason Nugennis's death was considered "suspicious" was not because he retained any possibility of resurrection, but because of the soul that broke away from that enormous demonic body.

After observing for some time, Ivy discovered that the souls born in Grallion had completely different operating rules than those of other worlds he had visited.

In Toril, when a being with a soul dies, it automatically travels to the Misty Realm to await the judgment of Death. Normally, Death assigns these souls to different deities based on their beliefs in life. Souls that made pacts with demons, or those who tragically died by weapons forged from hellish iron, travel to the Nine Hells to have their memories and personalities cleansed in the River Styx, becoming war materials for the Hellish legions in their fight against the demons of the abyss.

It can be said that the actions of a soul during its lifetime largely determine its fate after death.

In Arda, the souls of different races have different fates, but all living beings go to the temple of Mandos after death to await the judgment of the soul ruler.

As the firstborn children of Ilúvatar, all kinds of elves, if not corrupted by the darkness, will reside in the temples of Mandos after death, awaiting rebirth and continuing to live until the day they meet their end with Arda.

Humans, as Ilúvatar's descendants, have a completely different fate. They will eventually leave the temple of Mandos and go to a place unknown even to Ilúvatar, the creator god. This free destiny after death is Ilúvatar's gift to her descendants.

As for Hogwarts and Stryhaven, where Ivy studied, their souls also had different fates.

The souls of wizards embark on an endless journey after death, falling into a state of stillness in the spirit world. Except for a very few spells that can break this tranquility, they can be said to sleep eternally in the realm of the dead.

As for Akavievo, where Stryhaven is based, thanks to its extremely unique spacetime structure, different souls have completely different destinations. The souls of the Holy Decree will transform into Ancient Travelers at the end of time, quietly guarding and maintaining the coming history, while other mortal beings will go to the endless void beyond the world after death.

In Grenadines, however, the situation is entirely different.

According to Ivy's observations and understanding, the souls of Grallion truly undergo reincarnation. After a soul leaves its current body, it is judged by the deity who governs fate and souls based on its actions in its previous life, and is then sent to other planes to await its next life. In Grallion's native narrative, this process of soul reincarnation is called "soul cycle."

Ivy believes that this law, known as the "Soul Cycle," plays a vital role in the magical world of Grallion.

Because of the existence of this "soul cycle," which is equivalent to a law, all magic and phenomena that imprison or force souls to continue existing in the mortal world will incur the hatred of a certain deity.

It was the solar divinity within Ivy that made him feel the gaze of his own kind when he tried to capture a demon's soul.

Fortunately, this deity who controls souls doesn't seem to care about the demon lord's soul, so when Ivy seized the power of the Heathhardt soul fragment for herself, she did not incur His wrath.

It is precisely because of the existence of the law of "soul cycle" that Ivy finds Nugenis's death suspicious.

The soul that departed from that colossal demonic shell did not bear the same appearance as its body; it was a human face, or rather, a face that once belonged to humanity. The brutal transformation and distorted, unnatural features were evident in its soul, and from the enormous wound that pierced its spirit, evidence of the lingering power of mythology was gradually dissipating. The reason it no longer belonged to this soul, artificially transformed into a half-demon, was radiating a faint, brilliant divine light around Ivy.

The knight commander of the Fifth Holy War, a songstress from Chelias, is brutally swallowing the last remaining mythical power within the half-demon, and then radiating it through her body to her accredited teammates.

Having witnessed the entire process, Ivy not only felt something was amiss, but also experienced a chill that ran deep in her soul.

This tremor was not fear, but the excitement of witnessing a miracle.

If, if...

If the mythical power of the Holy Knight Commander and the demon that had just fallen before him shared the same origin...

Ivy's thoughts were interrupted by the deafening cheers of the Crusaders.

Like the plenipotentiary military advisors of the Fifth Holy War, the Crusaders who formed battle formations around them and launched an attack on the demons also felt the divine power emanating from the knight commander.

This miraculous power made the demons tremble, and it also invigorated the Crusaders.

With the divine might of their knight commander, the Crusaders at the front launched another charge, easily annihilating all the gargoyles brought by Nugenis and winning a complete victory in this skirmish.

"Ah~" The young, gentle, and charming half-elf noble girl let out a satisfied sigh, her cheeks flushed with contentment, and her eyes sparkling. "How do you feel, Ilinica? New power? New abilities? All of this... is so exciting!" She lazily nudged the demon's corpse with her toe, then looked up to observe the expressions on the faces of the knight commander and the military advisor.

"So... the strange power has manifested once again, and this time I'm standing right here." The Hell Knight's deputy enforcer, with his hands behind his back, walked through the Crusader crowd surrounding Ivy and Ilinica, thoughtfully offering his opinion. "It seems that nothing is a coincidence... Speaking of power, this Soul Eater seems stronger than any Soul Eater recorded in the Knights' Chronicles of the Strange... I'm probably not the only one who thinks he's... unusual, am I?" Regil's pale gray eyes gleamed with inquiry as he looked up at Ivy, who was stroking his chin.

The moment the latter turned his gaze, the newly promoted holy war officer tapped his black armor with his fist and reported, "As per your orders, the Claw Knights have apprehended potential traitors. During the process, the other party attempted to resist arrest using alchemical tools and magic scrolls, which my soldiers suppressed in accordance with the law."

The dwarf suffering from discoloration waved his hand, and two hell knights, also clad in black armor, stepped forward. One carried a massive shield large enough to shield a person, while the other slung a matte, spiked Morning Star mace over his shoulder. The two black-armored knights tossed a prisoner, bound tightly and writhing on the ground like a worm, in front of the crowd.

“Nura? She’s the traitor? Could there be some mistake?” As her mythical power returned to normal and she opened her eyes again, Ilinica was surprised to recognize the person in front of her—Nura Dandehua, the historical advisor assigned to her by Queen Godfrey.

“This arrest order was personally issued by the military advisor.” Regil stepped forward, reiterating the legality of his actions, and showed a glass jar containing a handkerchief. “My men found this handkerchief in the tent of the suspected traitor, the historical advisor. Based on current inferences, it can be proven that the slime on it is highly consistent with the pheromones secreted by the gluttonous insect.”

“The evidence is overwhelming. We’ll find an opportunity to execute her in a public manner. Take her away, Regil. Have your men guard her.” Ivy waved his hand, not intending to waste any more time on a traitor who was doomed to die. Apart from boosting the morale of the Holy Crusade through a public execution, this person had no other value to him. He didn’t even care why a historian favored by Queen Montevi would become a cultist.

“What a long day… These unexpected feelings are like sipping a fine wine, or a heart-wrenching caress…” The divine descendant Dalan, who escaped the jaws of the gluttonous insects thanks to Ivy’s spell scroll, is now happily rubbing his face with his hand. “For most people, today would have been tough, but for this ending, it was worth it.”

“Another absurd and unscientific force has appeared!” The fox demon Nie Niu scratched the downy hair on his chin with his sharp claws. “I will study this sooner or later, categorize it, describe its effects one by one, and write it into the ‘Encyclopedia of Grallion’! Otherwise, I will not be Nie Niu, the greatest scientist in Grallion!”

Ivy glanced at the drunken fox demon who claimed to be a scientist. In a world with magic, it was quite rare to find someone who advocated using the orderly knowledge system of science to summarize and generalize various phenomena.

If this fox spirit were any more reliable, Ivy wouldn't mind extending an invitation to her on behalf of Stryhaven.

After all, he never believed that science and magic were contradictory.

"Alright, now that we have won, let's start cleaning up the battlefield, treating the wounded, and preparing to set up camp." Ivy interrupted the chatter of the adventurers who had also shared the power of mythology and gave orders to the commanders of the various units who were gradually gathering around. "Our next target is the lost church that faces the city of Jueze across the canyon, or rather, the former Sanctuary of Xinli."

The newly established Sanctuary, one of the achievements of the Second Holy War, was a bridgehead of the Holy Crusade that stood guard over the city of Favor. It was forced to fall due to the loss of Favor. Zechariah, a renowned crusader in the Holy Crusade, sacrificed himself here to stop the pursuing demons.

However, judging from the Lich's Box that Ivy obtained, there may be some special circumstances hidden in Zechariah's self-sacrifice.

Although they witnessed once again the miraculous power of the Fifth Holy War's knight commander, the Crusaders faithfully carried out Ivy's orders.

Commanders issued orders methodically, and the Crusaders, having won an epic victory, readily complied.

However, a small incident occurred when the two Hell Knights who brought the traitor lifted her from the ground and turned to take her to the makeshift prison.

“Wait!” called out Sheryl’s priest, Sohir, whose armor was emblazoned with a colorful songbird.

The Hell Knights, of course, did not stop as he expected, but Regil, as their commander, still turned his head and looked at Sohir with disdain: "You're not trying to defend this traitor, are you? Since when have Sheryl's priests started forgiving criminals who never asked for forgiveness?"

“No!” Sohir turned his head, seeking help from the knight commander who also worshipped the goddess of art. “The question I want to ask is not about the historical advisor… but about that hell knight carrying the giant shield… I can’t be mistaken, that shield once belonged to my brother… I want to ask how your men obtained it… This is really important to me!”

Perhaps the Hell Knight with the heavy shield was indeed connected to Thorshill's brother. After hearing his words, this knight, who took discipline as his lifelong creed, actually turned his helmeted head and glanced at Thorshill.

However, it was only for a glance; the black-armored knight quickly went back to performing his duties.

"Hmm!" Ilinica's eyes lit up as she witnessed everything. She sensed a hint of gossip, and these kinds of stories that could easily lead to complicated relationships were also good material for opera.

But before he could speak, Ivy stopped her, saying, "Your personal matters can wait until after today's military operation is over, Sohir. If I remember correctly, that Hell Knight should have half an hour of free time. After all, he doesn't need to personally maintain his weapons for the time being."

Regil stopped and turned around, nodding reluctantly. "After completing his duties, Sir Marenta will report to you with that shield, Lord Doom."

Marenta is undoubtedly a woman's name. When Hell Knights are shrouded in armor of duty and discipline, it is indeed difficult to discern their gender from their appearance.

“I will only allow this to happen once, Sohir. When you are serving in the military, all personal matters must take a backseat.” Ivy waved to the Hell Knight commander, then gave a warning to the religious advisor.

“I understand, Lord Doom…” Sohir took a deep breath, trying to stop his trembling. “My brother is too important to me… That shield is his, Trevor’s treasure. He would never give it away for no reason. I can’t help but wonder how that Hell Knight got it… Did she lie to my brother? Did she kill him? Or is everything the opposite of what I think? Is she someone important to Trevor, which is why she got the shield? I don’t know if I’ll be facing a mortal enemy or a close sister…”

Rather than explaining things to Ivy, Sheryl's pastor was posing one difficult question after another to himself.

Fortunately, these questions will soon be answered by the Hell Knight himself.

(End of this chapter)